From Melbourne to Brooklyn: a Textile Designer at Home

I’ve been stalking the weavings of textile designer Maryanne Moodie all winter. When New York City was covered in snow, her work gave me a much-needed color pick-me-up. Last week, Maryanne was the subject of our Day in the Life, and today we’re getting a closer look into the Brooklyn home that she shares with her husband Aaron, who is a designer at Etsy, and the couple’s son, Murray. This was only the third apartment that the couple looked at before signing the lease. When moving to NYC from Melbourne, they had two wishes for an apartment: They knew that they wanted to live in Brooklyn and they wanted be to close to a park. In Melbourne, they lived right on the river and long, nightly walks had become a family ritual. This apartment was on a beautiful, tree-lined street where kids played outdoors, it still had the original fixtures including a huge window that let in lots of natural light, space to separate home and work life, and the thing that sealed the deal? A huge farm sink. In the ten months since they moved in, they’ve moved the furniture multiple times trying a myriad of different layouts before settling on the one that allows them to live, work and entertain easily. And now, it finally feels like home. Thanks, Maryanne, Aaron and Murray! -Amy

Image above: We don’t have a TV and so the room is not dictated by the direction of the screen. This allows for a less defined space that caters to more activities. Reading, chatting, eating, crafting, playing.

Image above: Can you say IKEA HACK? Aaron bought these shelves from IKEA and spray painted them yellow. Instant cred.

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See more of this Brooklyn home after the jump!Image above: Plants and vintage hangers. I had about 100 plants in Melbourne – my first babies. I was really torn about leaving them. I did keep some of my favourite pots and hangers, though. The collection of plants began again with gusto.

Image above: Inspiration. Rainy days call for a cup of tea, a comfy chair and a textile book. You can learn so much and be inspired by everything that has been done before. And hope to somehow contribute something new to the world.

Image above: We bought our dining table from a craftsperson on Etsy. Just something with beautiful, simple design that would be fit for dinner parties, drawing and playing. The painting on the table is by one of our favorite artists – Jake Walker. He lives in NZ and we also have one of his partner’s weavings. They are a bit of a dynamic duo. See their Selby interview here.

Image above: What a perfect kitchen. It is small but perfectly appointed. In the first few weeks of living here, we had no furniture and only an air mattress. We spent most of the time eating dinners and drinking wine, perched on a bench or the radiator as we had no chairs. The YES banner is by Secret Holiday Co. Such good vibrations.

Image above: The two little cups I am using as planters in the foreground are by an Australian ceramic artist. We have been slowly collecting the boards and tools and they are well used.

Image above: The sink that sold us on the place. It is an enormous farmhouse style sink with beautiful subway tiles. The cupboard above the sink holds coffee beans, grinder, aero press and our growing collection of handmade mugs. It is a delight to choose a different one each morning.

Image above: This tapestry is by my good friend Genevieve Griffiths. She was one of the first people to inspire my weaving work. Her Instagram account is jaw droppingly good.

Image above: I use so much color in my work that our bedroom is a little haven of white with pops of cool, calm tones. We don’t bring screens into the bedroom and just allow ourselves the time for reading, sleeping and love.

Image above: Another piece by Jake Walker.

Image above: I used to work at a vintage market when Aaron and I first started wooing one another. One day he bought this little set of sugar bowl and creamer in the shape of a car and caravan. I knew he was a keeper.

Image above: We sold most of our big furniture before we came to NYC and so we had to go looking for items pretty quickly after arriving here. We stumbled across an amazing vintage warehouse called The Horseman in Brooklyn. It is 5 floors of mid-century amaze. We got this beautiful chest of drawers there and were ecstatic to finally stop living out of suitcases!

Image above: We have a dual work space. This is Aaron’s side. He needs an enormous screen to do design work. The little framed picture is a piece he did when he was 7 years old. It is a monster called Slime Balls.

Image above: It is so satisfying to create little collections or vignettes around the house. A plant, a crystal, a handmade vase and feather can remind you of good memories, beloved people far away and dreams not yet fulfilled.

Image above: My work space. The little loom under the desk was my first. I have not used it in over two years, but I could never throw it away.

Image above: I use a lot of vintage cone yarn as a basis for most of my weavings and add texture with hand-spun and dyed fibres. The two little tool holders are by Pot Head Ceramics.Image above: When I finish a piece, I like to hang it in my home for a few days. I style it in photos and get to know it before sending it off to its new owner and new home.

What a brilliant use of those IKEA trestles! I used to have a pair of those and had to get rid of them for space. Now I wish I still had them. :) I am a new fan of weavings. Miss Moodie’s creations are so gorgeous! I am now wanting one for my home.

That’s terrible- that should NEVER happen. Can you tell me which ads and what happened? We do not run ANY ads (ANY) that auto-turn on. Some turn on when you roll over them, but that should be impossible for 4 to happen at the same time. Could you tell me what happened and what ads? If I have that information I can go straight to our ad team to turn them off immediately and block them. I can’t replicate this ad situation on my browser (I’ve been reloading and reloading) so I’m struggling to ID the problem ads :(

Hi Grace. Two ads were for Cascade (dish washing detergent I think) and I’m sorry I don’t remember the other 2 as I try not to listen. I had another one today while looking at another article. It was for travel in Saskatchewan (I’m in Canada). If it happens again I will try and jot down some notes. Thanks for checking into this!! I’m a regular reader and didn’t think you would be approving this kind of advertising.

Linda, you may have a virus or malware– have you run a scan on your computer lately with an antivirus program? Often times these viruses use pop ups that seem annoying but harmless when in fact they are hoping you click on them and therefore unleash a virus onto your system. Since it happened on multiple sites it would be worth checking out. Especially if you store personal info on your computer. :)

A gorgeous home. Beautiful textiles, pottery, and plants. What could be better?

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